The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut and gaming giant MGM Grand signed a strategic alliance to promote each other's gaming ventures.

The MGM Grand name will appear on the tribe's new casino, hotel and convention center. The facility will have an 825-room hotel, 150,000 square feet of meeting space, a 50,000-square-foot casino, a 4,000-seat theater, four restaurants, nightclubs, a spa and a parking garage, according to news reports.

As part of the deal, MGM is lending the tribe up to $200 million to aid the $700 million expansion of the Foxwoods Resort Casino. But state attorney general Richard Blumenthal claims he has the authority to review the agreement [PDF: Letter].

The tribe and MGM will work on future gaming and non-gaming projects. They will help market each other and share visitor data.

Separately, the tribe is investing $400 million in a casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The "Foxwoods Resort Casino at Broadwater Beach" represents another step in the tribe's foray into gaming markets outside Connecticut. The tribe is currently pursuing a Foxwoods in Philadelphia.

Get the Story:
Foxwoods/MGM deal takes aim at high rollers (The Norwich Bulletin 4/26)
Attorney general expresses concerns over Foxwoods' MGM deal (The Norwich Bulletin 4/26)
MGM Mirage, Mashantuckets Seal Deal (The New London Day 4/26)
pwday
Powerful New Player At Foxwoods (The Hartford Courant 4/26)
pwday
Foxwoods, MGM Grand to join in casino ventures (The Boston Globe 4/26)
Foxwoods’ Grand play: Casino, MGM in big $$ alliance (The Boston Herald 4/26)
MGM Mirage to license its name to tribe (AP 4/26)
Foxwoods heads to Coast (The Biiloxi Herald 4/26)
Conn. Indian tribe seeking Biloxi site (The Jackson Clarion Ledger 4/26)